The story below is from our May/June 2021 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Roanoke’s reputation for LGBTQ+ inclusion is partly thanks to these important organizations offering resources and support.
Although a visible LGBTQ community didn’t start to form in Roanoke until the 1960s, newspaper records and police reports indicate that citizens of the city have been engaging in non-normative gender presentations and sexual activities since the city’s founding in the 1880s.
“Roanoke is a welcoming and compassionate city that embraces the diversity of our residents. This includes our LGBTQ+ community,” the City of Roanoke says on its website.
Some of the most robust aspects of the local community are the various organizations that have been founded by and for LGBTQ individuals.
Ladies and Gents of the Blue Ridge Transgender Alliance
Ladies and Gents of the Blue Ridge Transgender Alliance is the only local group specifically for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. Informal discussions among the founders started back in 2003 with a focus on transgender women, but it wasn’t until 2007 that the group officially formed. Originally, meetings were held in church basements in Roanoke and Blacksburg. Transgender men and other gender non-binary individuals were also added to the group.
“There was such a need for support. Before it started, everyone suffered alone in the closet. Nobody knew that other transgender people were out there and existed. I sure didn’t before the internet. The internet was the key for us reaching out to people and having them feel comfortable because there’s such stigma involved,” Dolly Davis, president of the support group, says.
“The group brought people together and gave people a meeting place online and in-person. It gave people a safe space to talk about their feelings and to understand where they stand on the spectrum.”
Currently, 681 individuals throughout Southwest Virginia and neighboring states are associated with the group.
In spite of the pandemic, meetings are still being held on the third Friday of every month via Zoom. The group performs outreach to other local organizations and colleges, and holds a yearly transgender conference.
Outside of the regularly scheduled meetings, the members stay in touch in a Facebook group. Posts related to resources, support and news are regularly exchanged. Davis advises anyone wanting to get involved with the group to reach out on Facebook.
Roanoke Diversity Center
The Roanoke Diversity Center was established in 2013 with the goal “to support, educate, empower and advocate for LGBT individuals and groups in the Roanoke region and to encourage collaborative efforts with the greater community to improve the quality of life for all.”
The center moved from its original location in the Metropolitan Community Church in the Southeast neighborhood to a new location in downtown Roanoke last June.
Regular meetings and events held there include movie nights, bisexual support group meetings, youth support group meetings for ages 12-18, LGBT+ Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, meetings for parents of transgender children and meetings for those interested in video games.
Additionally, the center offers drop-in hours Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 4-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 12-5 p.m.
The Roanoke LGBT Memorial Library, one of the largest such libraries on the East Coast, is housed at the center. It was started by Roanoke resident Jim Ricketson, who passed away in 2000. Following his death, his friend Ed Harris inherited the collection of books.
The Ricketson GLBT Library opened later that year in the basement of the Lifestream Center in Grandin Village. Throughout the years, the library opened and closed and changed locations several times before becoming owned and managed by the center in 2017.
Diversity Camp
For local LGBTQ youth, there is Diversity Camp, which was started in 2014. Held every year at Craig Springs in Craig County, the camp includes hiking, swimming, music, games, crafts, a talent show and workshops on topics ranging from identity to activism. It is the only LGBTQ youth camp for hundreds of miles.
Davis, the vice-chair, describes the camp as being a transformative experience. Campers regularly arrive timid and shameful about who they are, but become confident and proud by the end of the camp.
“The camp allows the kids to discover themselves,” she says. “The changes I see in these kids are just amazing.”
Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project
The Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project was founded in 2015 with the mission of preserving the region’s LGBTQ history. Led by Roanoke College’s Dr. Gregory Samantha Rosenthal, the project has created a permanent regional archive of LGBTQ materials, an oral history project, multiple walking tours, exhibits and a podcast.
“We try to energize LGBTQ people today to develop a stronger relationship with our past and to embrace that past, even the bad parts of it,” Rosenthal explains. “It helps us understand who we are as queer people. We belong here in Southwest Virginia.”
Recently, the project has been working with the City of Roanoke to increase its score on the Human Rights Campaign Municipality Equality Index. In the past two years, the city’s score went from 12 to 54 out of 100.
House of Expression
One of Roanoke’s newest LGBTQ organizations is the House of Expression, which started 2019. Founded out of the ball culture tradition that became popular in LGBTQ African American and Latinx American circles in the 1980s, the house seeks to lift up and celebrate its members. Although most houses in bigger cities like New York have traditionally held balls that involved “voguing” and “walking” competitions, the House of Expression is more focused on community activism, specifically partnering with the Roanoke City Police Department to make the lives of LGBTQ black and brown people better.
Garland Gravely, a native of Roanoke who serves as the house father, explains, “We want to make Roanoke the best it can possibly be.”
Additionally, the concept of chosen family is a large part of ball culture. The 16 members of the house are part of it because they want to be surrounded by likeminded individuals who are able to give them the love and support they might not otherwise receive from their straight and cisgender blood families.
Other local LGBTQ+ organizations include Roanoke Pride, Inc., which organizes the annual pride festival, The Park dance club, which has served the community since 1978, and the Council of Community Services’ Drop-In Center, which offers testing and services related to HIV/AIDS.
In general, members of the local LGBTQ community describe Roanoke as being a welcoming place.
Joe Cobb, the first openly gay member of the Roanoke City Council, was anxious about how accepting the area would be when he first moved here 20 years ago.
“I’ve found that Roanoke is a welcoming city,” he says. “I’m married to my love, James. We have four kids together. We were married here when it became legal. We feel welcomed and a part of the community.”
Kyle Lorraine, a trans masculine non-binary individual who lives in Roanoke County, echoes Cobb’s sentiments. “Roanoke has been a great place to blossom into who I was meant to be.”
“I moved here nine years ago to come out full-time as my authentic self,” Erika Joyner, a trans woman who lives in Northwest Roanoke, says. “I was refused a lease because I am trans, but other than that and the usual stares and smirks, I have been accepted for who I am.”
Nowadays, there’s no denying that the city is home to one of the most vibrant LGBTQ communities in the region.
The story above is from our May/June 2021 issue. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!